Cowen calls for urgent move on IRA arms

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Brian Cowen, has said a gesture on the decommissioning of IRA weapons is needed to pull the Irish peace process out of its current stalemate.

Speaking after a meeting with Northern Secretary John Reid today, Mr Cowen said: "We need to see urgent progress on all the outstanding aspects of the agreement. In particular, we need to see early progress on putting arms beyond use."